Dental forceps

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a dental forceps with two articulated parts, which are connected to each other at a pivot and which each exhibit a handle at one end and at the other end a working end with an inside area, such that the inside area exhibits a corrugated area which runs perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and such that a longitudinal groove is positioned within the inside area, starting at the distal end of the working end and running along the longitudinal axis of the working end, and such that a recessed cavity is positioned in the longitudinal groove, starting at the distal end, and the radius of curvature of the recessed cavity is smaller than the radius of curvature of the longitudinal groove.

The invention relates to a dental forceps in accordance with thepreamble of claim 1.

The prior art is acquainted with dental forceps exhibiting twoarticulated parts, which are connected to each other at a pivot. Hereeach articulated part exhibits a handle at one end and at the other aworking end with an inner area and an outer area. The inner areaexhibits a corrugated portion running across the longitudinal axis, andthis corrugated portion makes it easier to grip the teeth with theforceps. In the inside area, proceeding from the distal end of theworking end, the known dental forceps also exhibit a longitudinal grooverunning along the longitudinal axis of the working end; the longitudinalgroove has a radius of curvature which is comparatively large, with theresult that the longitudinal groove is bent concavely to only slightdegree and is almost flat. When a tooth is grasped with the dentalforceps, the recessed cavity does not completely encompass the tooth,but instead the tooth is gripped by the flat longitudinal groove atcertain points only. In the process of luxation this results in a ridingmovement during which the tooth does not lie smoothly in the dentalforceps. In the process of luxation this riding movement can bring aboutdamage to the tooth, particularly fractures to the crown and root.

The goal of the invention therefore consists in providing a dentalforceps which permits a more gentle process of luxation. The goalparticularly consists in providing a dental forceps in which the toothwill rest evenly and damage during the process of luxation is prevented.

The goal of the invention is solved by a dental forceps exhibiting thecharacterizing features of claim 1.

Advantageous embodiments and elaborations of the invention are indicatedin the secondary claims.

The dental forceps according to the invention is so designed thatproceeding from the distal end a recessed cavity is positioned in thelongitudinal groove, at least by way of sections. The recessed cavityhas a radius of curvature that is smaller than the longitudinal groove'sradius of curvature. Due to its smaller radius of curvature thisrecessed cavity has a shape that permits its inner surface to restsmoothly on the convexly shaped outer surface of the teeth. As a resultthere is not just a punctuated or point-by-point contact surface betweenthe dental forceps and tooth, but an even one, which provides animproved degree of contact between the dental forceps and the tooth,with the result that the tooth is held firmly during the luxatingmovement, and a riding motion is avoided.

In an advantageous elaboration of the invention the radius of curvatureof the recessed cavity approximates the radius of curvature of thetooth. The inner surface of the dental forceps is designed toaccommodate the anatomical conditions of the teeth. In particular, theconcave shape of the recessed cavity corresponds to the convex shape ofthe crown of the tooth being pulled, with the result that there isoptimal contact between the dental forceps and the tooth. This permits amore gentle process of luxation.

The recessed cavity may extend over the entire length of thelongitudinal groove. Ideally, however, the recessed cavity will occupyonly about a third of the length of the longitudinal groove. Thus therecessed cavity does not extend over the entire length of the workingend of the dental forceps, as this is not necessary, since as a rule thetooth being extracted is seized only with the front third of the workingend of the forceps.

Ideally the recessed cavity will exhibit an ellipsoidal transitionalarea leading to the longitudinal groove, thus eliminating sharp edgesand transitional areas that might damage the tooth being extracted.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the width of therecessed cavity will approximate the width of the tooth. The recessedcavity thus encloses the tooth entirely and thereby assures aparticularly good degree of contact between the forceps and the tooth.In order to accommodate the differing size of teeth—such as incisors,premolars, molars, and wisdom teeth—a plurality of dental forceps can beproduced, in which the recesses have different widths corresponding tothe different average sizes of the teeth.

In an advantageous elaboration of the invention the longitudinal edgesof the recessed cavity have a cylindrically ground surface. During theturning movements around the longitudinal axis of the tooth, which arecustomarily executed in the process of luxation, the cylindricallyground surface engages with the tooth and thereby additionally assuresthat the tooth has a secure seat in the dental forceps.

Ideally the indentations or teeth of the cylindrically ground surfacewill have a spacing of about 1 mm. This distance is greater than theotherwise customary spacing of indentations in a corrugated area; theresult is that the indentations may additionally engage with the toothand facilitate the luxation process.

The ground surface on the rim of the recessed cavity will ideally extendinto the recessed cavity itself. This eliminates a transitional areawith sharp edges, which might damage the teeth unnecessarily and causefractures. Concurrently the indentations in the ground surface engagethat much more quickly and certainly during the turning movements aroundthe longitudinal axis of the teeth, and the result is that the tooth isprovided an even more secure position in the dental forceps.

In a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention the dentalforceps is designed as a stump forceps. Accordingly the recessed cavityis particularly narrow, e.g., only about 2 mm wide. Given thiscondition, the working end itself can have a very slender design. Thiskind of dental forceps allows broken root apexes, sequestra, or otherforeign bodies to be safely removed from the alveolus, with damage tothe alveolus.

The working end will ideally be bent 45 to 90 degrees away from thelongitudinal axis of the articulated parts. This permits the dentalforceps to be more simply introduced into the oral cavity and assuresbetter access to the tooth being extracted, or to root apexes or dentalsplinters being removed.

An exemplary embodiment of the invention is next explained in detail onthe basis of the following figures, which show:

FIG. 1 a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the dentalforceps according to the invention

FIG. 2 a top view of the dental forceps of FIG. 1

FIG. 3 a side view of the dental forceps of FIG. 1

FIG. 4 a top view of the inside area of the working end of anarticulated portion of the dental forceps of FIG. 1

FIG. 1 provides a perspective view and FIG. 2 a top view of an exemplaryembodiment of the inventive dental forceps 10, with two articulatedparts 12, which are connected at a pivot 40. Each of the two articulatedparts 12 has a handle 14 at one end, and at the other end a working end16, which exhibits a distal end 18, an inside area 20, which rests onthe inside area 20 of the other articulated part when the dental forceps10 is closed, and an outside area 22.

FIG. 3 provides a side view of one of the articulated parts 12 of thesame inventive dental forceps 10 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. Here it can beclearly seen that the working end 16 is bent at angle of about 90degrees from the longitudinal axis of the articulated part 12. Thisdesign of the working end 16 assures that there is better access to thetooth being extracted, or to splinters, e.g., root apexes, that must beremoved, as well as to other foreign bodies, particularly in thealveolus.

FIG. 4 gives a top view of the inside area 20 of the working end 16 ofone of the two articulated parts 12 of the dental forceps 10 accordingto the invention, where the working ends 16 of the two articulated parts12 are symmetrical in design. Applied to the inside area 20 of theworking end 16, and proceeding from the distal end 18, is a longitudinalgroove 26, which runs along the longitudinal axis of the working end 16and which has a length l₂ and a width b₂. This longitudinal groove has aradius of curvature which ensures that the longitudinal groove is onlyslightly concave and, in effect, almost flat.

Applied to the longitudinal groove 26, and proceeding from the distalend 16, is a recessed cavity 30, which has a radius of curvature that issmaller than the radius of curvature of the longitudinal groove 26. Herethe radius of curvature of the recessed cavity 30 will preferablycorrespond to the curvature of the outer surface of the tooth to beextracted, so that the tooth will rest evenly in the recessed cavity,thereby insuring optimal contact between the inner surface of therecessed cavity 30 and the outer surface of the tooth. As a rule, thecontact between the recessed cavity 30 and the tooth is sufficient forthe tooth to be extracted. In the process of luxation, during which thetooth is rotated with the dental forceps around its longitudinal axisand tipped toward the cheeks or the gums, and is finally removed fromthe alveolus along its longitudinal axis, the tooth is held firmly inthe dental forceps, with the result that riding movements between thetooth and the dental forceps are avoided. Such movements might result indamage to the tooth.

The recessed cavity 30 has a length l₁ and a width b₁. In principle therecessed cavity 30 may extend over the entire length l₂ of thelongitudinal groove. As a rule, however, this is not necessary, sincethe tooth being extracted is seized with only the forward third of theworking end 16 and it suffices if the longitudinal groove 26 is equippedwith the recessed cavity 30 over a given section alone and if the lengthl₁ of the recessed cavity 30 is only about a third of the length l₂ ofthe longitudinal groove 26. The width b₁ of the recessed cavity 30 isapproximately equal to the width b₂ of the longitudinal groove 26.

The width b₁ will preferably be coordinated with the width of the tooth.In order to accommodate the differing sizes of the various teeth—e.g.,incisors, premolars, molars, and wisdom teeth—a plurality of inventivedental forceps 10 with differing widths b₁ can be held ready. Dentalforceps 10 can be supplied which correspond to the average width of theteeth, with widths b₁ in the range from about 3 mm to 7 mm. FIGS. 1 to 4depict an embodiment of the dental forceps 10 which is particularlypreferred in this regard, one designed as a stump and splinter forceps.To this end, the width b₁ of the recessed cavity 30 is particularlynarrow and equals only about 2 mm. Because the design of the recessedcavity 30, which is coordinated with the anatomical shape of the teethand roots, already guarantees sufficient contact with the root orsplinters, the further shape of the working end 16 can be particularlyslender and narrow, with the result that it is possible in simplefashion to introduce the working end 16 of the stump and splinterforceps into the oral cavity, and particularly into the alveolus,without injury to the alveolus.

The recessed cavity 30 exhibits a transitional area 32, somewhatellipsoid in shape, which leads to the longitudinal groove 26, with theresult that sharp edges, which might damage the tooth during the processof luxation, are avoided.

The recessed cavity 30 has longitudinal edges 34, into which is set acylindrically ground surface with indentations or teeth 38. As a resultof this surface, when the forceps 10 holding the tooth is rotated aroundthe longitudinal axis of the tooth the indentations 38 engage with thetooth and guarantee a secure grip during the rotating motions involvedin the process of luxation. In an undepicted embodiment of the dentalforceps according to the invention the ground surface on the rim of therecessed cavity 30 extends into the recessed cavity 30. This eliminatessharps edges and sharp transitional areas, which could bring aboutdamage to the tooth being extracted. As a further result, theindentations 38 of the ground surface engage earlier with the toothduring the turning movements involved in the process of luxation, andprovide a more secure grip on the tooth held in the recessed cavity 30.The advantage applies during all movements of the luxation process.

Proceeding from the distal end 18 of the working end 16, the groundsurface runs only over roughly the length (l₁) of the recessed cavity30. The distance between the indentations 38 equals about 1 mm, so thatabout two to four indentations 38 are positioned along the length l₁ ofthe recessed cavity 30. The comparatively large distance between theindentations 38 permits the indentations 38 to engage with, or below,the tooth during luxation, thereby facilitating the process.

Adjoining the ground surface is a corrugated area 24, which runs alongthe further length l₂ of the longitudinal groove 26 on the inside area20 of the working end 16, and at a right angle to the longitudinalgroove 26. The teeth of this corrugated area have a smaller spacing thanthat of the indentations 28 in the ground surface.

List of Reference Numerals

-   10 dental forceps-   12 articulated part-   14 handle-   16 working end-   18 distal end-   20 inside area-   22 outside area-   24 corrugated area-   26 longitudinal groove-   30 recessed cavity-   32 transitional area-   34 longitudinal edge-   38 indentations-   l₁ length of recessed cavity-   l₂ length of longitudinal groove-   b₁ width of recessed cavity-   b₂ width of longitudinal groove

1. A dental forceps (10) with two articulated parts (12) which areconnected to each other at a pivot (40) and which each exhibit a handle(14) at one end and at the other end a working end (16) exhibiting adistal end (18) and an inside area (20), such that the inside area (20)has a corrugated portion (24) which runs perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis, and such that a longitudinal groove (26) with a givenradius of curvature is positioned in the inside area (20), starting atthe distal end (18) of the working end (16) and running along thelongitudinal axis of the working end (16), wherein a recessed cavity(30) is positioned in at least a section of the longitudinal groove(26), proceeding from the distal end (18), and the radius of curvatureof the recessed cavity (30) is smaller than the radius of curvature ofthe longitudinal groove (26).
 2. A dental forceps according to claim 1,wherein the radius of curvature of the recessed cavity (30) roughlycorresponds to the radius of curvature of a tooth.
 3. A dental forcepsaccording to, claim 1, wherein the recessed cavity (30) runs overapproximately one third of the length (l₂) the longitudinal groove (26)4. A dental forceps according to claim 1, wherein the recessed cavity(30) has a transitional area (32) of ellipsoidal shape leading to thelongitudinal groove (26).
 5. A dental forceps according to claim 1,wherein the width (b₁) the recessed cavity (30) roughly corresponds tothe width of the tooth.
 6. A dental forceps according to claim 1,wherein the longitudinal edges (34) of the recessed cavity (30) have acylindrically ground surface exhibiting indentations (38).
 7. A dentalforceps according to claim 6, wherein the indentations (38) of theground surface are spaced at a distance of about 1 mm.
 8. A dentalforceps according to claim 6, wherein roughly two to four indentations(38) are positioned along the recessed cavity (30).
 9. A dental forcepsaccording to claim 6, wherein the cylindrically ground surface runs intothe recessed cavity (30) at the rim of said recessed cavity (30).
 10. Adental forceps according to claim 1, wherein the dental forceps (10) isdesigned as a stump forceps.
 11. A dental forceps according to claim 1,wherein the working end (16) is bent 45 to 90 degrees away from thelongitudinal axis of the articulated parts (12).